Name: erin's review of Spark Joy by Marie Kondo
Item: Spark Joy
Rating: 5
Author: erin

Marie Kondo

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The star of the hit Netflix series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo and author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up helps you visualize your ideal lifestyle. Japanese decluttering guru Marie Kondo has revolutionized homes—and lives—across the world. Now, Kondo presents an illustrated guide to usingher acclaimed KonMari Method to create a joy-filled home that works the way you need it to. Spark Joy features step-by-step folding illustrations for everything from shirts to socks, plus drawings of perfectly organized drawers and closets. Kondo also answers frequently asked questions, such as whether to keep “necessary” items that may not bring you joy. With guidance on specific categories including kitchen tools, cleaning supplies, hobby goods, digital photos, and even building your own personal “power spot” in your home, this comprehensive companion is sure to spark joy in anyone who wants to simplify their life.

An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up

Spark Joy

"Tidying expert Marie Kondo's follow-up to her best-selling book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, is an illustrated master manual on her renowned KonMari Method with item-specific guidance and step-by-step folding illustrations"--Provided by publisher.

Lana

Marcel Ramseyer

erin

what can I say? i love animism and I love object curation.

Courtney

I really enjoyed the diagrams and folding techniques offered in this book! I checked out her first one from the library and enjoyed it immensely. Spark Joy is worth purchasing after reading the first as I will now have it as a reference for when I am tidying my home!

Gulshan Hasanzada

"Atma, lazım olar" - deyə-deyə evi arxiv şöbəsinə çevirmiş analara ithafən...

Sabetha Danes

Love this method!

I've read so many review and hate on these books but I've got to say most of it is attacking the tidbits and not seeing the larger picture of what she is trying to tell us. I don't thank my stuff but I understand her thought behind appreciating every thing you own. Having only the items that bring you joy will make you happier. Obviously there are necessity items in life but clearing out the clutter will make those non joy items more manageable I feel. I also feel this is a great method for kids, so many kids have too much stuff, and its overwhelming to control. Less stuff has been proven to help with mood in children. I would recommend both of these books to everyone. Read past what makes you giggle and take in her larger meaning.

Cindy Lieberman

This is an ideal refresher course and follow-up to her first book. It seems designed to answer FAQs and relieve any anxiety people might have about implementing her tidying method. It helped me get unstuck. I had finished tidying my clothes and books, but couldn't seem to deal with all my papers. Thanks to dipping into this book, I made great strides and have the drive to keep going (for now!).

Grace O'Callaghan

I did it. I finally completed my tidying marathon, and it feels pretty great. I do appreciate Marie Kondo for her ideas on tidying and that people are considering what truly sparks joy in their lives, but I don’t agree with the entirety of this book.

Firstly I wanted to say whether I prefer ‘The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up’ and ‘Spark Joy’. I think that ‘Spark Joy’ is the best one to go for as it goes through each stage in detail with illustrations whereas ‘Life Changing Magic’ is more about the impact tidying has had on other people than the actual process.

I really do think that the Konmari method is very useful. The way she categorises things simplifies the concept of tidying amazingly well. It also groups together all items and tells you to get all of that item that you own. For example you may have pens all over your house and by gathering them all you can see all the pens that you have rather than tidying room by room and forgetting where they all are. 

I also really do like this idea of keeping things that ‘spark joy’ because who wants to hold on to things they don’t like? Of course there are things that have only functional purpose like a toilet brush, but you have to think about whether its purpose sparks joy rather than the object itself. 

However I do have a slight problem with that you should ONLY keep things that ‘spark joy’. I think it creates this idea that you have to get rid of those pens you don’t like and buy new ones that spark joy. It’s not actually said in the text but this is how I interpreted things. I just feel it’s incredibly wasteful to get rid of perfectly usable things just to get something that sparks joy.

As much as I love that Marie Kondo has created a more mainstream idea of only keeping things that truly make you happy, there is absolutely no talk on how to get rid of these things. There are absolutely no resources on how to properly manage the things that you’re getting rid of. She never addresses any of this, never suggesting recycling, selling things, donating or reusing things as a way to give items new life. I don’t know about you but it doesn’t ‘spark joy’ in me knowing that a lot of this stuff is just going to landfill because she never even addresses the amount of waste tidying produces.

Overall, I do enjoy the ideas behind this book. You do have to take it with a grain of salt like most self help kind of books as one size doesn’t fit all. But I can’t give this any more than a 3 star as it never even mentions way to responsibly get rid of your items.

Tori Carrillo

I recently re-read my review of Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and all of the places where her prequel may have lacked, Spark Joy makes up for. These should be read together in the order they were published. While The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up encompasses more of the big picture and overall mindset, Spark Joy becomes almost a reference guide to the details of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. For anyone that cannot find the right way of incorporating Marie Kondo's concept into their lives that works for them and needs detailed explanations of how to begin this process, this book will work as a great companion for you. Filled with great tips and tricks on how to execute her ideas in your own space, I find it hard to think I might never actually purchase these two books simply to "save space" but boy do they bring me joy. 

In response to my own review of her earlier work, I have by now (a year later) almost completely incorporated Marie Kondo's tidying philosophy into my life (with the exception of Miscellaneous items I'm still working on) and since I have tidied I can see no other way of living. I've been less stressed, more productive, able to sleep better in my room at night, and overall a lighter and more confident person. Again, I'm sure these books and this method are not for everyone, but I certainly have enjoyed what Marie Kondo has shared with her books.

Adam

I should not have listened to an audiobook that has "illustrated" in the title. Although this did go more into some of the order and systems involved in the konmari method, it wasn't as useful as if I'd given it the time to go through a physical copy (ironically enough).

Brook

This book was bizarre and delightful. So many strange quotes, like "When I visit homes for lessons, it’s my practice to crawl into the cupboards and storage spaces once they have been emptied". The illustrations were cute, and even though I laughed a little at so much of this book, I feel much more inspired to create a joyful house. I've been in survival mode so much of my life, and tried to live a bit like a spy - only keeping what I could take with me in an emergency, but now I think it'll be good to tidy a little, and maybe I'll impress my cleaning man with how much tidier my place looks. I dunno. 

Thanks to @haley for letting me read her copy when I was visiting. 

If you read this and roll your eyes the whole time, I totally get it. I definitely did... but I think there's still some kind of substance to what she said. Planning to read her other book sometime too.

Courtney 

karissa🌙

Chana

Marie Kondo will help you declutter your life with her new major Netflix series Organise the World with Marie Kondo Spark Joy is an in-depth, line illustrated, room-by-room guide to decluttering and organising your home, from bedrooms and kitchens to bathrooms and living rooms as well as a wide range of items in different categories, including clothes, photographs, paperwork, books, cutlery, cosmetics, shoes, bags, wallets and valuables. Charming line drawings explain how to properly organise drawers, wardrobes, cupboards and cabinets. The illustrations also show Ms Kondo’s unique folding method, clearly showing how to fold anything from shirts, trousers and jackets to skirts, socks and bras. The secret to Marie Kondo’s unique and simple KonMari tidying method is to focus on what you want to keep, not what you want to get rid of. Ask yourself if something ‘sparks joy’ and suddenly it becomes so much easier to understand if you really need it in your home and your life. When you surround yourself with things you love you will find that your whole life begins to change. Marie Kondo’s first book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying, presents her unique tidying philosophy and introduces readers to the basics of her KonMari method. It has already transformed the homes and lives of millions of people around the world. Spark Joy is Marie Kondo’s in-depth tidying masterclass, focusing on the detail of how to declutter and organise your home.

Marcel Ramseyer &
Spark Joy by Marie Kondo

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Marcel Ramseyer &Spark Joy by Marie Kondo

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Marcel Ramseyer &
Spark Joy by Marie Kondo